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(No Model.)

E. TIFFANY.

SPRING FOR SINKERS OP KNITTING MAGHINES. No. 374,280. Patented Dec. 6,1887.

- W I'INEESEE- INV'EN'I'EJR- 771 6 ELI TIFFANY. f 5/ BY 48%, .A'ITY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI TIFFANY, OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

SPRING FOR SINKERS OF KNITTING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,280, dated December6,1887.

Application filed August 16, 1886. Serial No. 210,984. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELI TIFFANY, of the town of Bennington, in thecounty of Benniugton and State of Vermont, have invented certainimprovements in Springs for Sinkers of Knitting-Machines, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings.constitutes a specification.

This invention relates to means for holding the sinkers ofkhitting-machines in any desired stage of elevation or depression duringthe operation of feeding in the yarn to form the stitch and of knockingover the same.

The means commonly employed for holding up the Vertical sinkers,especially in straight knitting-machines, have consisted of a small nickin the back edge of the sinker in conjunction with a thin flat springcarrying a small bent detent of Ushape, formed near the end of thespring, which is adapted to spring or fall into the nick when the sinkeris elevated or depressed, as the case may be, so that the nick anddetent shall come in apposition. Such devices so arranged were operativeand efficient only when the detent was in engagement with the nick, thepressure of the spring exerted against the edge of the sinker at otherstages of its movement being too slight and ineflicient to prevent thesinker from sometimes falling or sliding down out of its properposition.

To obviate these defects and provide the sinker with a spring efficientto hold the same firmly at any stage of elevation or depression, andminimize the liability to breakage of the sinkers resultant from theirfalling out of position, are among the objects of this invention.

Figure l of the drawings is a view, in perspective, of a detachedsection from a straight knitting-machine, showing a limited number ofsinkers and springs in position. Fig. 2 is a similar View of a singlesinker and spring detached from their surroundings. Fig. 3 is an edgeview of a sinker and an end view ofa spring designed to show the beveledunder edge of the end of the spring.

E and G are the front and rear grooved sleybars, through which thesinkers work.

F is the bar, designed to raise and lower the sinkers by reciprocatingvertically between the shoulders i and h of the sinkers. The sinkers areshown at A A, and slide in the grooves 70 7c of bar E and n n of bar G.The sinkers play freely through these grooves and require someextraneous appliance to prevent their dropping down when elevated. Forthis purpose I have provided a series of flat springs, 13 B B, mountedin a stock or bar, 0, and rigidly fastened in grooves therein. The bar 0is screwed or bolted to the back side of bar G by means of screws D, andspans the whole series of sinkers. By this plan of construction all thesprings may be simultaneously adjusted with reference to the sinkers.The screw-holes in bar 0 are longitudinally elongated, so as to admit ofslight longitudinal adjustment, as seen at P in Fig. 1. Each one of thesprings is adjusted so asto impinge laterally against the side of asinker and thus pinch it against the side of the groove in which itplays. By this arrangement a constant pressure is brought to bearagainst each sinker suifioient to hold it up steadily at any stage ofits elevation in the process of knitting.

It sometimes happens that sinkers get broken in two through theirweakest part, leaving the fragments in the groove, in which case thenatural result would be that the spring B would spring in over thegroove, and on the next upstroke of the sinker the broken fragment belowthe spring would collide withthe bottom edge of the spring and possiblycause further breakage. As a precaution against this, I have beveled thebottom edges of the springs, as shown at t, Fig. 3, so that if a brokenend should happen to impinge against it the spring would be thrust asideand the broken sinker would rise without further obstruetion.

I am aware that springs attached to seetional blocks, somewhat similarin shape and functional action to mine, have heretofore been used onstraight knitting-machines; but my invention differs from such in havingthe under edge of that part of each spring which comes in contact withthe sinker beveled for the purposes described, and also in attaching allmy springs to a single head or stock, so that all may be adjusted at thesame time and by the same operation.

I therefore claim as my invention 1. The combination of alongitudinally-sliding sinker adapted to slide in a groove in a sley-barwith a flat spring, one end of which is ICO rigidly fastened and theother end is free to impinge or bear against one side of the sinker tohold or press the same against one side of the sley-groove in which itslides, said spring having its lower edge beveled, as shown, oppositeits line of contact with the sinker, substantially as described, and forthe purposes set forth.

2. The combination, in a straight knittingmachine, of a grooved sley-barand a series of sinkers adapted to slide longitudinally in the groovesthereof, with a parallel spring-bar provided with a series of springscorresponding with the aforesaid sinkers, and having the under edgesthereof abreast the sinkers against which they impinge beveled, asshown, and means for securing said spring-bar and longitudinallyadjusting the same with reference to the sinkers, substantially in themanner described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereto subscribed my name, atBennington,Vermont-, this 13th day of April, A. D. 1886.

ELI TIFFANY.

In presence of FRANKLIN Soorrr, F. M. TIFFANY.

